


How Do Your Like Your Coffee?

by A_Death_and_A_Maiden



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Badass Otabek Altin, Crimes & Criminals, Fluff, Lime, M/M, Marriage, Out of Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:49:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28591302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Death_and_A_Maiden/pseuds/A_Death_and_A_Maiden
Summary: “My name’s Otabek Altin. This is my area. You are under my protection now. Nobody will touch you.”“We...we don’t have any money for...for protection...”- Yuri stammered. -”We only opened last week.”“I know. My sister is a regular,”- Otabek’s gaze on Yuri’s face increased intensity to a degree when it became uncomfortable and Yuri blushed terribly.- “I don’t mind a barter agreement. Espresso?”
Relationships: Jean-Jacques Leroy/Yuri Plisetsky, Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky
Comments: 16
Kudos: 83





	1. Chapter One

_You tell me you don't love me over a cup of coffee  
And I just have to look away  
A million miles between us  
Planets crashing to dust  
I just let it fade away_

_I'm walking empty streets hoping we might meet  
I see your car parked on the road  
The light on at your window  
I know for sure that you're home  
But I just have to pass on by_

_So no of course we can't be friends  
Not while I'm still this obsessed  
I guess I always knew the score  
This is how our story ends_

_[Song by Garbage ‘Cup of Coffee]_

Getting robbed was something Yuri would have never imagined happening to him yesterday but it was exactly what was happening right now. He was finishing his shift at Victor’s coffee bar when they came in. When Victor retired from competitive skating, he invested his savings in several businesses. His coffee bar “Eros Cafe” was opened just last week and they have already managed to attract a solid loyal customer base from the many office workers in the busy area but the three of them who entered as Yuri hung ‘Closed’ sign five minutes ago were not coming for their caffeine fix. They came for their extortion money. For protection, they said. The money had been rung up and put away into the safe in Victor’s office at the back of the cafe but Yuri had a spare key. Yuri was happy that neither Victor nor Yuuri were in the cafe at that moment because they were the most anti-violent people Yuri’s ever met. The three of them surrounded Yuri like sharks, one had a backpack and Yuri wondered if there were any weapons in it. 

But before the thugs even started clearing out the till, one of them, probably the leader because he acted the cockiest of them all, noticed a chain around Yuri’s neck. It was a small gold chain with a cross, a gift for Yuri’s baptism from his grandfather who passed away last year. His grandfather was the last string attaching him to Russia and after the burial Yuri didn’t hesitate to leave to country. Yuri wore the chain around his neck as long as he could remember himself, the cross tucked under the neckline of any clothes he may have been wearing at the time, including his skating performance costumes. Крестик нательный was part of his life from sunrise to sunset. It was meant to protect a good Christian against evil and now it was gonna be tested on the battlefield. 

“Let me see this bling,”- the man tucked his fingers around the chain of the cross and before Yuri could react he pulled it so that the chain snapped torn open. The thug inspected the thin chain and a small cross with a sneer, it was not gonna be worth much in the pawn shop.  
“Open the till,”- he said.  
“It’s empty,”- whispered Yuri. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest and he was all covered in cold sweat.  
“Just open the fucking till,”- the man barred his teeth in a very unpleasant snarl. 

“Can I have an espresso, please?”  
The three thugs and Yuri turned to the sound of the voice. Surprise, because none of them expected any company. There was a man of impressive built with a hair in an undercut in front of them. He was quite tall and very muscular as if he spent his days in the gym pumping his body until the gym equipment gave. He was wearing what seemed to be a biker’s outfit and the man moved with a dance of a boxer. He was holding his hands in the front pockets of his tight-fitting biker pants that accentuated his muscular hips and there was an unreadable expression on his face. He was certainly handsome if square jaws were your thing. He was flanked on both sides by equally impressive two men and this easily outnumbered the thug company. The man was clearly a badass.

“Boss Altin?”- said one of the thugs. There was a shiver of respect in his voice. The whole atmosphere in the cafe seemed to have changed instantly and the predators had become preys.  
“You are working in my area. We have been following you all day. Do you know how much my time is worth?”- the man addressed as ‘Boss Altin’ spoke quietly but every word seemed to lash painfully on the thugs, a scar or two may even remain.  
“We didn’t know this place was protected. This little slut didn’t mention your name. We are sorry!”  
“I’ll spare your lives but I’ll break your legs, just to keep your kittens heads above water.”  
Yuri was brushed against the wall by one of Boss Altin’s men and the three thugs were lined up for what seemed to become a disciplinary action. When they received their share of what was deemed as just and were about to be thrown into the street, Yuri summoned his courage and turned to the man they called ‘Boss Altin’. 

“Can I get my cross back? Please?”- begged Yuri, -”it’s my late grandfather legacy. It’s the most precious thing I have ever had. It’s not worth much money-wise.” 

Boss Altin looked Yuri up and down and contemplated for what seemed to be a long moment. Yuri knew he was a mess at the end of the hard-working day with his hair out of order, his oily face skin a beacon of light, his white uniform shirt and apron sweaty and stained, but this was the result of hard work and he was proud of it. He knew what he looked like on a good day, he could make some heads in the street turn after him, but this was not a good day and he had all the right to look like a hot mess. But Boss Altin probably had an odd taste in men because the more he looked at Yuri, the more he seemed pleased at what he saw.

“Let’s see what you’ve got,”- said Boss Altin to the thug who had been carrying a backpack. The thug tried to protest but after a good kick in the side he quickly spilled the catch of the day on the nearest table. There was a small mountain of jewelry, watches, bank cards, banknotes and coins, all this was extorted from the people they had visited before coming to “Eros Cafe”. Yuri spread the load evenly on the table but he couldn’t find his chain. He felt the weight of the loss to double and there was a sore throb in his chest. It was like spitting on his late grandfathers grave. Tears started to fill his eyes.  
“It’s not here,”- he sighed and bit his lower lip to lock the crying inside of him.  
“What do you mean it’s not here? Who took it?”- asked Boss Altin. Yuri pointed a finger to the man who had ripped his cross off and the man visibly paled.  
“Let me see your pockets,”- said Boss Altin.  
Sure thing, when the thug turned his pockets out there was something more than just Yuri’s small chain with the cross.  
“You bastard steal from your own people? You make me sick,”- growled Boss Altin and his eyes narrowed dangerously. Yuri covered his face with his palms at what followed next but his ears couldn’t escape the man’s cries of pain. Then, silence ensued. When Yuri looked up, there was only he, Boss Altin and his four men in the cafe. Boss Altin was standing right in front of Yuri, dangling his chain in the air. Yuri knew the chain was broken, but the cross itself was still there on it and Yuri knew there was a goldsmith workshop a few steps away, so he could get it fixed. Yuri stretched out his hand and Boss Altin slowly lowered the chain into Yuri’s hand and when their hands touched, Boss Altin slowly rubbed his index finger against Yuri’s palm, locking his brown eyes with Yuri’s blue ones. Yuri shivered as if electricity ran through his body. He kissed the cross in a respectful manner he was used to and slipped the chain into the back pocket of his pants. Then, he looked at the imposing man before him unsure of what was gonna come next. 

“My name’s Otabek Altin. This is my area. You are under my protection now. Nobody will touch you.”  
“We...we don’t have any money for...for protection...”- Yuri stammered. -”We only opened last week.”  
“I know. My sister is a regular,”- Otabek’s gaze on Yuri’s face increased in intensity to a degree when it became uncomfortable and Yuri blushed terribly.- “I don’t mind a barter agreement. Espresso?” 

Yuri managed a small smile. It had been a long day and he was tired as a sick dog, but fuck him raw if Plisetsky family knew no gratitude. He worked the espresso machine and Boss Altin took a stool at the bar and totally commanded the place by his looming presence. Yuri put a small cup before Boss Altin. He had an idea how to pay back the favour.  
“What does your sister like? I won’t be charging her.”  
“She craves for your ‘Libido’s,”-answered Boss Altin but he didn’t touch his coffee. He was more interested in watching Yuri now when there was so much less...noise. He noticed Yuri curled his lips around his teeth to contain a snicker but the dance in his eyes gave him away. -”Something funny?”  
“Sorry. It’s not related to your sister. The offer is still standing. Just...Victor, the owner, created this coffee under very”….dubious? Suspect? Pervert?...”interesting circumstances…I can’t help myself when I remember it.”  
“Let me be the judge of that.”  
Yuri told Boss Altin a summary of their vacation in Hasetsu hot water spring spa that involved his uncle Victor and Victor’s boyfriend Yuuri, the story was very ‘Victuuri’, Yuri was a good storyteller, and, although Boss Altin didn’t outwardly laugh (meanwhile Yuri was giggling silly his pants off), his brown eyes flickered.  
“That is some serious crazy shit,”- said Boss Altin and finally drank up his coffee.  
“Please don’t tell your sister, I wouldn’t like to lose a valued customer. But, hey, I just work here, it pays my rent unless you can scare the shit out of my landlord too,”- and then Yuri slammed a palm against his mouth,- “oh my God, so very inappropriate.”  
“Wait outside,”- Boss Altin told his men over his shoulder and the four of them obediently left the cafe. Yuri could see them do a line up against the facade of the place, essentially barring anyone from entering. Or leaving? Just as Yuri was to say something, his mobile phone’s screen lit up from an incoming message. 

“Let’s talk about it. I’m missing you.”  
JJ.  
Why couldn’t JJ just leave him alone?  
“You’re not gonna answer that?”- asked Boss Altin as Yuri reached out for his empty cup.  
“No,”- said Yuri and he put the dirty dish into the sink. Some dishes needed washing-up and the floor hadn’t been mopped but he would come earlier tomorrow to deal with it as he was hardly standing upright on his feet. -”Look, I hate to be rude, but the day was long and…”  
“You don’t need to say anything,”- said Boss Altin as he raised himself from the stool, -”you look like death warmed up.”  
Yuri chuckled. Boss Altin must be single with such zero filter. But here Yuri felt he shouldn’t judge the book by its cover when Boss Altin said something else.  
“I’ll walk you home. Or do you need a ride?”  
“Walk is just fine, thanks. I heard the area is rough,” -Yuri tried to crack a joke but Boss Altin just grunted. Yuri turned off the lights, set up the alarm, locked the doors and pulled down the protective blinds on the outside of the cafe. Then they walked the short distance to Yuri’s place in silence. He was renting his studio flat in the same neighbourhood as Victor and Yuuri and as they were passing their housing unit, Yuri cast a furtive glance and was massively relieved to see some disco lights in their window. At least somebody was enjoying their evening. Boss Altin’s men were following them at a short distance. Yuri heard his mobile phone receive more messages. Probably JJ again.

“Right, that’s where live,”- said Yuri as they approached his housing unit. Not a good idea to tell the strangers where he lived, in normal circumstances he would allow to be walked to a bigger shopping center and pretended he needed to get some groceries to get rid of his companion, but this night was far from being normal. By now, Yuri couldn’t think straight from the fatigue and late shock was finally kicking in. He still had to talk to Victor about it. 

“Thank you for your help, Mr Altin? Boss Altin?”  
“Otabek.”  
“Right, Otabek. I’m Yuri, by the way.” Yuri extended his hand and, after a short hesitation, Otabek accepted the handshake. Yuri winced as he felt how electricity in the other man’s veins charged into his. -”Coffee is always on the house but we really can’t afford to...”  
“Don’t worry about it. You gave me something better than money. And you can bet I’ll be coming for more.”  
“What’s that?”  
“You made me laugh.”

End Part One.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They resumed their walk in silence until they reached Yuri’s housing unit.   
> “Thank you,”- said Yuri, extending his hand, -”for everything. Especially for your honesty.”   
> “So this is goodbye?”  
> “This is goodbye.”

Otabek ‘Boss’ Altin became a regular patron of “Eros Cafe’. He didn’t come round every night but when he did, he always came around ten minutes before closing time and scared the last of the customers away. Yuri didn’t mind, it was not that he was losing a million dollars on this deal. Otabek would order his espresso and they would chat about different things while Otabek’s men would lend Yuri a hand in the closing works of the coffee bar and cleaning. The big men who could easily fill in a door frame mopped the floor, carried heavy boxes and did the dishes without a murmur at such demeaning petty tasks. Yuri started kinda looking forward to Otabek’s visit and he’d feel a slight disappointment if ten minutes to the closing time Otabek’s formidable figure wouldn’t place itself on the bar stool in front of him. As a mobster, there was no need to sugar coat things now, Otabek Altin was a very good conversation partner. Yuri would put ‘Closed’ on the doors of the cafe and then they’d spend about half an hour casually chatting, then Yuri would close the place for the night and Otabek would walk him home, his men shadowing them from a respectable distance. Yuri had the gold chain with the cross fixed and it was back hanging around his neck. A life supply of espresso to Otabek wouldn’t be enough to pay him back for getting the precious memento back. 

It was one of those nights when Otabek was drinking his espresso and Yuri was searching his phone for a picture he wanted to show to Otabek when the bell over the doors chimed announcing a visitor.  
“We are closed,”- said Yuri not looking up from his phone.  
“If closed doors were a problem, I wouldn’t be where I am today,”- said a familiar voice. Yuri looked up from his phone and Otabek turned his head over his shoulder to look, too. Two of his men were flanking the cafe doors inside now but they hadn’t been given instructions not to let anyone in, the sign ‘Closed’ was supposed to send a clear message.

Mila _fucking_ Babicheva. And a roller suitcase. And an airline carry on. In a pair of Laboutins. 

“Baba? What are you doing here?”- Yuri asked and his voice was cracking with worry.   
“I came to thank you, Alexander,”-Mila stretched her hand upwards as high as she could reach and then bowed low, touching the ground with the fingertips of her hand in the customary old Slavonic greeting for nobility.  
“Alexander? Are you on crack again?”  
“You abolished my serfdom. I’ve been fired.”  
“Oh, no, Mila!”- Yuri dropped his phone on the bar and placed the palms of his hands over his face. -”I’m so sorry!”  
“What are you sorry about? That I lost a well-paid job? That I lost my company apartment, my company car and my company phone? That I lost my comped medical care including the dental? That I lost my annual bonus of the size of the Moon? Which part of it are you sorry about?”  
“All of it,”- whimpered Yuri as removed his hands from his flustered face and looked down at his toes.   
“Hey,”- said Mila as she approached the bar, put her elbows on it and rested her face in her palms, -”you kicked my groping -ass CEO and fractured his rib. The bastard is gonna think twice before he decides to harass another CFO. So fuck me raw if I’m not grateful,”- Mila turned to Otabek and introduced herself,” -Mila Babicheva, Yuri’s friend, his distant relative and his future couch crasher because I’m basically homeless.”   
“Otabek Altin,”- replied Otabek with a polite curt nod. He didn’t say he was a friend, though. But he didn’t make a move to leave, either.  
“Oh my God,”- Mila noticed the coffee menu on the wall, -”Mila’s Passion?”  
“Victor’s idea, not mine. I’m just paid to serve his madness to people.”  
“Is it popular?”  
“Erm...not really.”  
“What is it like?”  
“Coffee arabica, cinnamon, whipped cream and a dash of salt.”   
“I see why it’s not popular. I knew this business is a joke. Victor’s laundering money.”  
“Mila! No!”  
“Would you be surprised if he did?”  
“Erm,”- Yuri pinched the tip of his nose, -”probably not.”  
“Say, Otabek, why aren’t you on this hall of coffee fame?”  
“Allah is merciful,”- answered Otabek wish such a serious face expression that both Yuri and Mila burst into laughter.

“Yuri, I hate to be an imposition, but I need a place to stay for sometime until I sort out the situation with my employment. I know your studio flat is not an option but Victor and Yuuri have a large apartment, right?”  
“Yeah, there’s a guest bedroom that they turned into a workout room for Yuuri because he is still competitive in skating and Victor now gives choreography lessons. But there’s a couch and an en-suite bathroom from the original layout.”  
“Do you think they’d mind…?”  
“They are planning a short road trip to celebrate their wedding anniversary anyway, so I don’t think there’ll be a problem. Let me just call them,”- Yuri picked up his phone, -”Sorry, Otabek, I won’t be a minute.”  
“No problem,”- said Otabek. Mila took a stool next to him and carefully looked around, noting Otabek’s physical appearance and the four men, two still inside the cafe and two outside. Her face expression was clear, she was a smart woman that could put two and two together. Otabek preferred to keep his mysterious presence in the coffee bar but word on the street was already out that this was a mobster cafe. Yuri’s voice chattered from the back of the cafe where he had gone to make a private call. 

“Is Yuri in trouble?”- asked Mila.  
“No,”- replied Otabek, -”should he be?”  
Mila shrugged shoulders.  
“Yuri Plisetsky is a handful,”- said Mila, -”trouble is his middle name.”   
“Victor says you can stay with them, I can let you in as I’ve got a spare key,”- said Yuri as he returned to the front of the place. -”They have gone out for the night anyway, so you can move in right now if you want.”  
Mila sighed.  
“I’m grateful to Victor but you will understand me why I’m not in a hurry to move in right this second.”  
“He’s gonna mother hen you to the point of suicide.”  
“Precisely. Can I have an espresso, anyway? The flight had been horrendous. I’m sure Otabek wouldn’t mind another cup, either.”  
“No,”- said Otabek, -”I wouldn’t mind another cup.”  
“Espresso is the only real coffee. Do you like espresso, Otabek?”- asked Mila when two small cups with hot shots of coffee appeared on the bar.  
“Not really but I like the guy who’s serving it,”- said Otabek, Mila’s jaw hit the bar and Yuri inhaled loudly. It’s been a month after their first encounter but it was the first time Otabek put a label of his after hours visits. Mila was the one to recover first and she downed her coffee in one gulp.   
“Yuri, I’m just wondering why someone accepted for Juilliard ballet is wasting their talent serving a crazy coffee selection,”- said she as she pushed away her empty cup.  
“Oh my God, are you gonna grill me about it too?!”- shouted Yuri. Mila put her hands up in defense.   
“OK, no Julliard, but JJ says hi,”- said Mila. -”He’s starting there in September, as in six months from now, and he wants to know your accommodation preferences.”  
“JJ can go and hang himself!”- shouted Yuri as he slammed his palms on the bar.   
“Who’s JJ?”- asked Otabek. It was first time he saw this reaction from Yuri.   
“Yuri, seriously, you two are worse than a bunch of five-year-olds. Why can’t you sit down like normal adults and talk about it?   
“Who’s JJ?”- asked Otabek again, this time more pointedly through gritted teeth.  
“It doesn’t matter,”- curtly replied Yuri.  
“Yuri, that ‘doesn’t matter’ is still planning your romantic getaway,”- said Mila. -”Wait, you’re not wearing the ring?”

There it was.   
The ring.

Yuri saw how Otabek furrowed his brows when he made the connection. For some reason, Yuri felt embarrassed. He knew he shouldn’t be. It’s not that he and Otabek were dating. To Yuri, Otabek was a badass gangster who saved his ass when he was in trouble and then walked him home several times a week. Their walks were innocent in all that mattered even though Otabek seemed to make an appalling attempt or two at flirting. 

Yuri closed “Eros Cafe” and they walked Mila to Victor’s flat, Otabek’s men dealing with Mila’s luggage. The windows of the apartment were dark, ‘Victuuri’ gone to wherever they went to be all about fluff and sap, Yuri let Mila in with his key and then left it with her, so she could get in and out whenever she wanted. Otabek chose to wait outside and honestly Yuri didn’t expect for him to be there when he returned. But there he was, a man in a biker’s outfit, leaning back against a lamplight post, waiting like a loyal dog. He pushed away from the lamplight post when he saw Yuri come out. They resumed their walk and this time Otabek was the first to speak.   
“Juilliard?”  
“Ballet,”- said Yuri and did a pas.   
“I noticed you walk strangely.”   
No, seriously, Otabek ‘Boss’ Altin was gonna be single for the rest of his life.   
“Don’t worry about what you said at the cafe.”  
“What did I say?”  
“That you liked me. I know you just wanted to tease Mila. She can be obnoxious when she wants, which is often.”   
Otabek paused in his trail and that made Yuri stop, too.  
“I meant every word of it,”- said Otabek and he tilted his head to the left. He wasn’t a great speaker, so every word carried its weight in gold.  
“Urgh...OK...I suppose we can be friends…”  
“Yuri, I don’t see you as a friend. I see you as something more.”  
“Otabek, I’m married.”  
“Do you love him?”  
“It’s difficult,”- sighed Yuri.   
“But you married him.”  
“Yeah. I married him”.   
“Yuri, I want to make one thing very clear. I’m not interested in friendzone. Either we are gonna be lovers or this is the last you see of me. My protection is still on, but I’m done just holding hands.”   
“We’ve never held hands.”  
“There you go.”

They resumed their walk in silence until they reached Yuri’s housing unit.   
“Thank you,”- said Yuri, extending his hand, -”for everything. Especially for your honesty.”   
“So this is goodbye?”  
“This is goodbye.”  
Otabek accepted the handshake and the same familiar electric volt hit Yuri. Otabek tugged Yuri closer by the hand he was still holding and leaned towards Yuri, his hot breath brushed Yuri’s face as Otabek spoke to his ear.  
“I want to be the last man you’ll ever know. Let me know when you change your mind.” 

End Part Two.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JJ breathed out a cigarette smoke and eyed a blond teenager. The blond was wearing an official Russian tracksuit and a black hood was pulled over his head. A pair of blue eyes had a piercing look like the blades of the skates he was holding. JJ recognized the Russian Punk.  
> “How old are you?”- said JJ, even though he knew the answer. The number was fifteen.  
> “Not as old as you are, old geezer. I’m nearly sixteen.”  
> “Come ask me for a smoke when you are sixteen or, better, eighteen.”  
> “Drop all your quads, sucker,”- said the blond teenager as he flipped JJ. -”See you around.”
> 
> ***  
> There are two lines from the original anime series in this chapter. Can you spot them?

Yuri turned the sign ‘Open’ to ‘Closed’. 

_“Let me know when you change your mind.”_  
When, not if.  
Yuri felt certain vibes coming from Otabek during his visits. The way Otabek’s dark eyes travelled over his body when Yuri was working the coffee machine. The way Otabek started slowing down his pace when Yuri’s housing unit came into sight. The way Otabek commanded the entrance when he came in the coffee bar and looked around the place as if challenging anyone to contest his right. And it would be unfair to deny that Yuri wasn’t somewhat attracted to Otabek Altin, who was a mobster and badass, so this attraction could never come to any good and Yuri’d better shake it off.  
Confused? Fuck, yeah.  
And.  
Also.  
But.  
But he was married to JJ. He married for love, although many, including not the sharpest pencil in the box Victor, questioned his sanity. That, in a way, explained his sudden attraction to Otabek, both dark brooding men were Yuri’s type. The two men even liked their hair undercut in the same style. JJ’s Christian upbringing crumbled like a house of cards the day he looked into Yuri’s eyes. As a lover, JJ was gentle and patient working Yuri until Yuri’s legs started shaking. But JJ was now visiting his parents in Canada and Yuri was, technically speaking, supposed to be there with him, but instead he was serving coffee in New York. Right there where was Juilliard, where they were both accepted for the dance degree. Yuri knew he was unreasonable to give up on such a chance because of a broken heart and JJ obviously felt the same if he was looking for shared accommodation. 

And it was a week after he saw Otabek Altin last time. The man kept his word of distancing himself from Yuri: he told Yuri what he wanted and took a step away for Yuri to make the decision. 

A cup slipped from Yuri’s fingers, hit the sink and broke into a myriad of small pieces. Hа щастя, thought Yuri as he scrambled the broken shards out of the sink and threw them into the rubbish bin.  
It was the closing time and he wasn’t expecting anyone when the bell over the doors chimed announcing a visitor. Obviously, the sign ‘Closed’ meant a revolving door for the people he didn’t want to see but locking the doors never actually crossed Yuri’s mind. Yuri wasn’t expecting to see Otabek tonight but nothing could have prepared him for who came instead.

JJ.

Jean-Jaques _fucking_ Leroy, his husband. So much щастя that Yuri wanted to be struck with a lightning rod.

They just watched each other in silence. Then, JJ picked up Yuri’s hand and brought it to his lips to lick the blood from the cut Yuri earned while cleaning the mess and failed to notice. Their eyes locked and Yuri felt a familiar shiver going down his spine and a short gasp escaped his lips.

“Do you have a first aid kit?”- gently asked JJ. This wasn’t exactly the best way to greet one’s husband after a fight and prolonged separation but it was what the situation called for. To make the matters worse, this was Yuri’s better hand, so he would struggle with bandaging himself. Yuri just nodded to the shelf space under the bar. JJ picked up the first aid kit and inspected its contents. As a professional skater, he knew his way around basic injuries and how to treat them. Patiently, JJ worked Yuri’s hand and Yuri let him. Seeing JJ took the wind out of Yuri’s sails.

“There you go,”- said JJ as he secured a bandage on Yuri’s hand. Then, he placed a gentle kiss on the bandaged area. -”My little Russian Fairy.”  
“Fuck off, JJ.”  
“What’s gotten into you?”  
“If my memory serves me right, I walked in on you with your dick in another man’s ass.”

JJ planted his palms on the bar and held against them for a long moment, his head hung down. Then he slammed his palms on the bar surface.  
“Yes, you did,”- said JJ.  
“What do you want, JJ?”  
“I want you back. I want to make this work.”  
“It’s kinda a bit too late, don’t you think?”  
“I checked with Julliard. Your application is still active. Don’t let yourself lose the sight of what you want. Now is the time to take off. I hope you are not gonna withdraw because of me. If anyone should withdraw, that would be me.”  
“You would do that?”-Yuri found it hard to believe. Skating and dancing were two biggest passions in JJ’s life, his biggest dream and his biggest ambition and Yuri would be lying if he said JJ wasn’t good at either of them. Olympic medals and Julliard was proof of that. The thought that JJ would give up on his dreams so that their paths wouldn’t cross on the campus scared Yuri. He blamed JJ for what happened but he didn’t want to be responsible for ruining JJ’s career and shattering his dreams. 

JJ put a small velvet box on the bar. Yuri knew what was inside it- his wedding band that he had left on the table alongside with his note on the day he left JJ.  
“I want to try to fix it, Yuri. I love you,”- said JJ. -”Give me a second chance.”  
Before Yuri could answer, there was a chime from the bell over the doors announcing another visitor. Revolving doors, difficult to put a lock on them.  
“We are closed!”- roared JJ, not taking off eyes from Yuri’s slightly flushed face and then turned around to see who gave Yuri this kind of reaction.  
“Can I have an espresso?”- asked Otabek. 

“Sure,”- said Yuri, -”take a seat.”  
JJ looked utterly confused. The coffee bar was closed, why would Yuri serve a customer? His confusion grew when two strong men positioned themselves by the door and the one, whom Yuri told to take a seat, claimed a bar stool and didn’t even seem conflicted about the finished working hours.  
“Aren’t you closed, Yuri?”- asked JJ.  
“It’s a special case,”- answered Yuri as he worked the coffee machine. When he put a cup of coffee before Otabek, the man noticed the bandage and put his hand on Yuri’s wrist to hold him.  
“What’s this for?”- asked Otabek, his eyes narrowing as he looked at JJ, -”Did you hurt yourself, Yuri?”  
“Look, whoever you are...”- began JJ but Otabek cut him in.  
“I’m talking to Yuri.”  
“You are talking to my husband. And if you think you can come here and intimidate him like this, think again, because I’m gonna beat the crap out of you,”- hissed JJ. Two Otabek’s men made a move but then stepped back, obeying their boss’s dismissive hand move.  
“You must be the famous JJ,”- said Otabek and, as a complete surprise, extended his hand, -”Otabek Altin.”  
“Otabek Altin?”- JJ’s voice faltered and then he grabbed Otabek’s hand, -”you mean the Otabek Altin?Man, I used your music for my Julliard entrance exams! They say you retired.”  
“Something like that.”  
“What do you do now?”  
“I’m doing something else that I’m enjoying,”- Otabek cast a knowing look at Yuri, who felt blood hit his cheeks and his ears started ringing.  
“Otabek, what are you doing here? I thought our last conversation was very clear,”- said Yuri, biting his lower lip and refusing to look Otabek in the eye.  
“I was in the area when I got a call that someone might be bothering you after closure time. I decided to check if it’s not some thug, like last time.”  
“What thug?”- asked JJ in an alarmed voice, -”Yuri, what happened? Oh, I knew it! I should have been here with you? Where was Victor and that Katsudon of his? Did they leave you alone to work late at night? I’m gonna kill Victor and dance on his grave!”  
“What’s this?”- asked Otabek, looking at the velvet box.  
“Oh my God!“- yelled Yuri, throwing his arms up in the air, -”why don’t you just toss a coin who’s gonna fuck me tonight?” He removed his apron and slammed it on the bar. Then, he shut himself in the small bathroom.  
“Ouch,”- said JJ and turned to Otabek, -”so you are not just a worried friend who just happened to be passing by?”  
“Do you have a coin?”  
JJ laughed but then he caught the expression on Otabek’s face and his laughter froze.  
“You seriously?”

_“Got a smoke?”  
JJ breathed out a cigarette smoke and eyed a blond teenager. The blond was wearing an official Russian tracksuit and a black hood was pulled over his head. A pair of blue eyes had a piercing look like the blades of the skates he was holding. JJ recognized the Russian Punk.  
“How old are you?”- said JJ, even though he knew the answer. The number was fifteen.  
“Not as old as you are, old geezer. I’m nearly sixteen.”  
“Come ask me for a smoke when you are sixteen or, better, eighteen.”  
“Drop all your quads, sucker,”- said the blond teenager as he flipped JJ. -”See you around.”_

_Yuri Plisetsky asked him for a smoke again half a year later in an opening reception party for another of their competitions. He was legally sixteen then but that was still two years younger than he was allowed to buy cigarettes in Russia. This time JJ didn’t say no, he just silently he took a packet out of his pocket and allowed Yuri’s long delicate fingers fish out one cigarette, which JJ lit up from the one he was already smoking. Yuri’s blue eyes sparked but this time there was no aggression in them.  
“You landed all your quads,”- said Yuri as he puffed out the smoke but it was a doubtful compliment, it sounded more like a complaint.  
“I was thinking about you every time I jumped,”- said JJ, Yuri just grunted.  
“Yeah, right,”- said Yuri and puffed another smoke. His blue eyes locked with JJ’s dark eyes and they held it. They kissed for the first time later on the closing day of the event, they had sex for the first time half a year later and they were married a day after Yuri’s eighteenth birthday. Then they decided to quit skating altogether and move into dancing. JJ was nearing his retirement age (not yet close, but year after year slowly and inevitably getting there) and Yuri said he wanted something where he wouldn’t be freezing his ass off. Juilliard was the answer to their prayers. They didn’t have the advantage of the youth anymore but they had great stamina and a killing desire to win._

When Yuri came out of the bathroom, Otabek was sitting by the bar exhibiting the patience of a rock. JJ was gone together with the ring. So much for wanting me back, snorted Yuri.  
“Why are you still here?”- he asked Otabek.  
“We tossed a coin,”- said Otabek, -”I won.”

Two months later Yuri got a mail from Victor’s lawyer who had been helping them with business affairs. JJ filed for divorce. It came through three months later because neither party contested it. They would both go to Juilliard in September but not share accommodation. Victor and Yuuri were supportive to ad nausea and Mila was no better. Otabek was a regular customer again, walking back on his word on friendzone, so much of a gangster. The day Yuri received the last paperwork from his lawyer and was officially a free man, Otabek came for his espresso. 

“What now?”- asked Yuri, serving Otabek his drink.  
“Now me. Not so complicated, really,”- said Otabek and drank his coffee. 

The End


End file.
